Editorial

VVIP movements

The President sets an example

PRESIDENT Zillur Rahman's move towards easing road traffic during VVIP movements is admirable. Given the horrendous proportions that traffic congestion in the capital has acquired in recent weeks and months, the presidential action, especially considering the plight of SSC students, should make a difference in the way VVIP movements are organised. The presidential entourage in its movements will now keep the interests of citizens uppermost in mind. Even as we appreciate the presidential gesture, we would like all concerned authorities to take a cue from this and try and conduct movements of high dignitaries in a way, albeit with full attention paid to security detail, that public mobility can be eased on such occasions.
One hardly needs to point out that while Dhaka has evolved from the provincial town that it was in the pre-1971 period into the capital of a free nation, its road infrastructure has not grown commensurately. Add to that the enormous growth in the number of people who have over the years made the city their home. That has resulted in the setting up of new offices, academic institutions and business enterprises, to say nothing of the ubiquitous skyscrapers that have been sprouting all around.
Given Dhaka's burgeoning population and the high demand for public mobility vis-à-vis limited spans of road network, surely a greater sensibility ought to be shown to traffic management during movements of high dignitaries. President Zillur Rahman has by instructing the concerned people to look for ways to ease traffic during his movement has, we believe, led the way in this regard.
We suggest that, as far as practicable, the VVIP movements better be organised on Fridays and Saturdays. Basically, the idea should be to organise their movements during lighter traffic hours rather than the peak ones so as not to inconvenience the citizens.

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